Yep, most definitely, another exact scenario of 1998. The kid (ala Julia) dethrones the lady (Yuna Kim) at 15, thereby becoming the second? or third? youngest Olympic Champion in history. Take it to the bank. And in her home country of all things!

And here I was seriously worried at the beginning of the grand prix that Russia was going to have a hard time winning the Team Event because of their ladies finishing 9 & 10 respectively last year at Worlds. But the kid comes through! With V&T (gold) and Julia (gold), plus their top dance team winning bronze last year at Worlds, there's only Evgeni as the ? mark. Still, I think they'll at least secure a medal of any color for the Team Event.

Her tech was great -70- and the eurosport commentators are just confirmation what a perfect vehicle Julia has for some better pcs! Just total perfect vehicle! 70 yes and 60 pcs with Suzuki at 66 so I don't know if she can medal but she is banging on the door! Sub 50 tech would be needed from Mao or kostner .

She almost fixed her lutz and now she have more flow out of her jumps. Which mean she can get +GOE. She have good programs too. I can see her PCS moving up If she skate like that. But I don't think its going to be enough. Asada, Kostner going to get +70 PCS.

Her tech was great -70- and the eurosport commentators are just confirmation what a perfect vehicle Julia has for some better pcs! Just total perfect vehicle! 70 yes and 60 pcs with Suzuki at 66 so I don't know if she can medal but she is banging on the door! Sub 50 tech would be needed from Mao or kostner .

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I can see Julia's PCS climbing a bit, certainly not to Kostner, Mao or Kim levels. But going higher.

Tara had already been to two world championships before she won Olympic gold. I don't think the situations are at all similar. In fact, if Julia wins, it'll be far more impressive than what Tara did - beating the reigning Olympic champion and greatest ladies figure skater of the past 30 years without ever going to worlds. Not to take anything away from Tara's incredible skates.

Can she win gold in Sochi (aka pull a Tara)? No. She is super consistent, but Yu Na is herself too consistent to ever make enough mistakes to lose to a much poorer skater than herself like Julia. Given the inconsistency of everyone else she has a chance against everyone else on a given day.

Can she win a medal in Sochi? Yes, it is possible.

Will she win a medal in Sochi? I would say 40% likelihood. Possible, but far from certain, and will be more dependent on how Kostner, Asada, Gold, Wagner, skate than how she skates.

Will she be in Sochi? Yes, pack her bags already. No way she isnt going.

Can she win gold in Sochi (aka pull a Tara)? No. She is super consistent, but Yu Na is herself too consistent to ever make enough mistakes to lose to a much poorer skater than herself like Julia. Given the inconsistency of everyone else she has a chance against everyone else on a given day.

Can she win a medal in Sochi? Yes, it is possible.

Will she win a medal in Sochi? I would say 40% likelihood. Possible, but far from certain, and will be more dependent on how Kostner, Asada, Gold, Wagner, skate than how she skates.

Will she be in Sochi? Yes, pack her bags already. No way she isnt going.

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Well the ice is slippery I think she'd need some help from Kim to win. But who knows where Kim's at. I do think if Kim, Asada, and Kostner don't show up, she's got a shot at the World Title.....But not to jinx her.

You never know what can happen. She has the ability to be on the podium. I said 2 years ago she could be on the podium...you never know where the stars will align and who they will align for.... what an amazing thing for Russia (and obviously her) if that happened.

I think she has a decent shot at the podium. She is building momentum, she is very consistent, the Olympics are in her home country. Mao and Carolina are pretty much NEVER clean, it just depends on how many mistakes they make. I think we'll see Julia's PCS rise steadily thru the season, and get an additional bump in Sochi. Personally, I'd prefer to see more powerful, mature person with bigger jumps on the podium.

Well the ice is slippery I think she'd need some help from Kim to win. But who knows where Kim's at. I do think if Kim, Asada, and Kostner don't show up, she's got a shot at the World Title.....But not to jinx her.

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We do know Kim never bombs. Only Asada, Kostner, or Ando have ever beaten her since Skate Canada 2006 where she lost to Rochette and Suguri in her debut event. Nobody is a robot and Kim doesnt always skate cleanly, but unless you are good enough to beat Kim making 2 mistakes (which Julia isnt), if you yourself skate cleanly, you will never beat her.

Anyway at this point there are still quite a few who have a chance of beating a clean Julia. Based on the scoring Gold and Suzuki probably would have (yes I know a clean Gold is super unlikely). That might change as she likely garners higher scores if she keeps up her consistency, and keeps improving. Judges love consistent skaters.

We do know Kim never bombs. Only Asada, Kostner, or Ando have ever beaten her since Skate Canada 2006 where she lost to Rochette and Suguri in her debut event. Nobody is a robot and Kim doesnt always skate cleanly, but unless you are good enough to beat Kim making 2 mistakes (which Julia isnt), if you yourself skate cleanly, you will never beat her.

Anyway at this point there are still quite a few who have a chance of beating a clean Julia. Based on the scoring Gold and Suzuki probably would have (yes I know a clean Gold is super unlikely). That might change as she likely garners higher scores if she keeps up her consistency, and keeps improving. Judges love consistent skaters.

Kim was mentally exhausted at those Worlds after the Olympics and should never have even shown up to compete. She didn't look right in the SP and made bizarre mistakes. Guaranteed if Yuna is healthy and trained she won't be screwing up like that again in Sochi.

Kim was mentally exhausted at those Worlds after the Olympics and should never have even shown up to compete. She didn't look right in the SP and made bizarre mistakes. Guaranteed if Yuna is healthy and trained she won't be screwing up like that again in Sochi.

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Well absolutely but you never know what could happen. My suspicion is that Kim won't show up, if Kim's not prepared to win.

I expect Yu na to be fully prepared. I don't see Julia winning the gold but a silver or bronze is not out of the question if she continues to skate great and delvers two clean performances in Sochi. If she actually wins (a near impossibility, IMO because it would require a ton of skaters to have a melt down), it would be a Sarah Hughes moment, rather than a Tara Lipinski moment.

In any case, this was just one competition. Let us see how she skates rest of the season. BTW has Julia gone through puberty already?

Other than 2010 Worlds I dont remember a competition she ever made more than 2 mistakes which is where my 2 mistakes comment came from:

2007 Worlds- 2 mistakes overall, 2 falls in LP
2008 Worlds- 2 mistakes, a fall on lutz in short and single lutz in long
2009 Worlds- 2 mistakes, a singles salchow, and the last spin discounted
2011 Worlds- 2 mistakes, a near fall on triple lutz in short, and a singled flip in long

Then in all the other grand prixs and smaller events I dont remember more than 2 mistakes. Other than maybe 2006 Skate Canada and 2009 Skate America, but dont remember those events too well.

I don't think that baby jumping bean has a real shot at a medal unless several top ladies fail badly. She has the jumps and the spins, but artistically she's still far beyond world's best skaters. She's a kid and cannot possibly match presentation of 20-something year olds, such as Mao, Yuna, Carolina or Ashley. She doesn't have their skating skills either. I honestly think that, as much as she knows how to move beautifully, she's not fully capable of interpreting, I mean really interpreting the music yet. She doesn't have the flow of those other skaters either.

If Julia can skate 2 clean programs at Sochi and Top 3 makes mistakes, I think she will strike the podium.

But with Julia, it's the next cycle and 2018 Pyeongchang -- Julia v. Gracie could potentially be the next Yuna v. Mao -- with Zijun Li also possibly in the mix. It seems to me that the future of figure skating is bright.

I expect Yu na to be fully prepared. I don't see Julia winning the gold but a silver or bronze is not out of the question if she continues to skate great and delvers two clean performances in Sochi. If she actually wins (a near impossibility, IMO because it would require a ton of skaters to have a melt down), it would be a Sarah Hughes moment, rather than a Tara Lipinski moment.

In any case, this was just one competition. Let us see how she skates rest of the season. BTW has Julia gone through puberty already?

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She's grown taller but she still have the body of a little girl and at 15 she might shoot up another 2-3 inches and her body will continue to change so this might be as good as it gets for Julia.

I find the Lipnitskaya love to be baffling, frankly, and I'm sorry if this was a cheer thread. She skates w/ less command than a lot of other top elite, senior ladies and that's fine. She's very young and very talented. I just don't think it's all there yet. The scores are jaw-dropping.

I do think the Russian Fed. is hedging its bets on her due to Sotnikova's and Tuktamysheva's inconsistencies. I expect her to be a threat not because her skating is great but because the Olympics are in Sochi and they will politick the hell out of who they probably consider their #1 lady right now.